Michael and the Multiverse: Origins
by Cl0v1s
Summary: Michael was an ordinary boy, living his life as a normal teenage boy that was despised and hated by others in his school for looking weird. However, he did not know that he was actually from another universe, from a collapsed empire. But soon, he would one day know about what is the multiverse, and go on an adventure that would change his life forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Centuries ago, on a planet lightyears away…**

A great and magnificent palace stood in the centre of a great city square, with throngs of people bustling past it, some stopping to admire its beauty. Noise produced by traders in the market filled the air, touting or encouraging people to buy their goods and services. Soldiers dressed in gold uniforms and helmets patrolled the city to detect anything happening out of the ordinary. In short, everything was at peace.

Then, at the city gates, a soldier came running through, panting and gasping for air as he ran in the direction of the great palace. People looked curiously at him,wondering why was he in such a hurry. Some looked at him in annoyance as he bumped into them while running.

And from the top of the palace a king looked down from an open window and saw the soldier.

He knew the end was near.

The end of an empire.

 **In a matter of days…**

The great city, once so peaceful, once standing so glorious, was now burning like a giant furnace as pillars of smoke rose from the air into the starry sky. Soldiers and civilians lay dead in the city square, the ground stained with their blood as invaders stormed into the city, shouting in unison a cry of victory, racing towards the great palace, the only building not yet damaged.

And then, suddenly, many blue orbs shot from the top of the palace into the night sky, many of them spreading across the land away from the city.

However, one orb shot into the night sky and out of the planet, its glow getting dimmer and dimmer, until it was no more.

And that orb shot into space would one day change the course of history.

A great destiny awaited it, painted in blood and war.

 _California,Earth, 1995._

"Come, boy, what are you waiting for? Show us you are tough!"

A group of three boys surrounded me as I lay on the ground, smirking with disdain as they looked at me.

I looked at them in fear, paralysed as I looked with shock at their intimidating stature, imagining what they could do to me, as one of them already was rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, ready for a fight.

Oh wait, I forgot. You are probably wondering who the hell am I. Heh, I do get ahead of myself sometimes. My name's Michael Reeves, and I was adopted by a couple with the names Richard and Hannah Reeves, who named me since when they found me I had no name. I live in a big suburban house with two step-siblings, one's named Helen, the other, Xavier. Surprisingly enough, all of us have the same colour of hair, that is, brown. I don't know why though. What's more, strangely when one day I asked how I was adopted, they said I came from the sky in a blue orb when I was a baby, which turned out to be some sort of complex space pod. Of course, I did not believe them, for I looked quite normal whenever I look at myself in the mirror, not like an alien from another planet. I mean, my family was Christian so I have always been told that no such things as extra-terrestrials exist by the church my family attends.

Oh yes, where was I?

Anyway, as I lay on the ground, a familiar, reassuring voice came from above. "You two better leave him alone before I kick your asses!" The boys looked up and suddenly, as if automatically, the boys' looks changed into those of fear, and at that point they took off. I still laid on the ground though, confused about what was happening. Then, a handsome face blocked my view of the blue sky above.

"Ah, boy. You really should learn how to stand up for yourself, Mikey!" Xavier said as he helped me up to my feet. As I got my bearings, I dusted my pants and muttered ,"Thanks, Xavier…." He grinned cheekily and slapped my shoulder lightly.

"Don't be so rough with him, Xavier, he was hurt by those boys, you know."

My sister, Helen, walked up to me and touched my forehead. Oh, it was so nice. "Are you hurt, Michael?" Sigh, I don't know why, but just thought I would say this: I am in love with my sister. I mean more than just my step-sister. Honestly, I don't know why. She just makes me feel like I am special. She was perhaps the only one who truly understood what I was going through and encouraged me whenever I felt down. Of course, that is not to say that my brother, Xavier, was not friendly to me, but he was more of someone who was…brash and obnoxious at times. He always wanted to pick a fight with anyone he deemed as a bully, but I have a feeling he only fights bullies for the thrill of it. Nevertheless, he truly loved me as a brother and although an asshole at times, I guess he really cared for me, but he always told me that you may be weak now, but sooner or later, you will be strong enough to go against them. Guess that's not surprising considering the fact he is one that like to fight.

As Helen examined my body for wounds, she said, "Well, we better get home soon. Mom and Dad will be worried if we aren't home in time for lunch." She took my hand and smiled warmly. "Never mind, brother! You don't need to be affected by these kinds of people!" We then walked back home, and in my mind, I could not help but think, " _I may not know about what happened to me in my past family, but I'm sure glad that I'm in such a caring family. I wish I could live this life forever."_

Or so I thought, because later, things would change drastically for me. For the worse!


	2. Chapter 2

At home, my family and I were eating lunch together, the food cooked by our mom never failing to satisfy and surprise us with her first-class cooking (although my brother always says she's trying too hard).

Anyway, we were all busy tucking ourselves into her famous home-made beef casserole and meatball spaghetti in the dining room, my brother boasting about how he beat up different bullies in school (including mine) and how he, through his _glorious_ efforts, got a girl to fall in love with him after saving her from one of them. My god, does he ever stop talking? He has been doing this every time we eat lunch after our school hours, and I only can wonder how my stepmom and stepdad can tolerate him. Helen and I, on the other hand, ate quietly beside each other, only talking during the merciful intervals he stops boasting to either catch his breath or eat.

"Hey, Michael, have you made new friends yet?" Helen asked me, grinning. I stopped slurping on the spaghetti for a while, before chewing and swallowing my food nervously. "I…um…" I stammered as I looked at her.

Now, just to tell you, I am NOT a sociable person unlike my sister and brother. I am always seen as a weirdo due to my quiet nature, making me a really favourite target by bullies all around school. In fact, I was nicknamed "Up for grabs" by the bullies due to the fact it was so easy to pick on me, causing me to be in a mixture of fights and quarrels because of their provocations. Actually, it is not only the bullies that ostracize me, everyone in the school does, including the teachers. And because I am not in the same school as my brother and sister though all of our schools are in the same town, I absolutely feel like I am going to a prison every time I go to school.

"Well…" I coughed nervously and forced a smile onto my face. "No such luck." I then sighed despondently.

"Well, Michael, let me tell you this: even without friends, you are still special! God loves you and always cares for you even though no one else does," my dad said, gesturing to me with his fork.

"That's right, son, you are loved by Jesus always! You can't always depend on human love for emotional support," my mom said in response.

"But that's not the point….." I sobbed.

Everyone looked at me with concern.

"My brother and sister have friends while I have absolutely none! You both can say that because you have a lot of friends in your lives! Me, I have none! Yea, sure, I have my brother and sister but then why does God do this to me if he loves me?! If he did, then he would have given me more friends that understand and stand by me!" Tears rolled as rivers down my face as I spoke.

"Mike, you don't understand…." my sister began.

"NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME!" I then got up and ran from the dining room to my bedroom upstairs.

"Michael, wait!" My parents shouted.

"Leave him be, Mom and Dad," my sister said. "He needs time alone. He's right, we don't truly understand his situation."

As I lay in my room sobbing uncontrollably, I looked up at the wooden crucifix on one of the walls of my room and upon getting up, I screamed, "Why the hell am I in this mess, you stupid God?!" before grabbing it and slamming it onto my desk table repeatedly, causing it to break in half. I looked at the palm of my hand that slammed the crucifix and saw that it was bruised and bleeding, tiny splinters embedded into it. I sighed and said, wiping away my tears, "Well, I gotta get this patched up-"

I was soon interrupted mid-sentence when I suddenly felt a cooling sensation on my hand. It wasn't icy, but it felt cold. Curious, I looked at my palm and saw something weird happening to it.

It was healing, with the bruises and cuts fading away and being replaced with normal skin and the splinters starting to fall off my palm. But what was weirder was that a white dust was produced as my palm was healing, causing a glow to emanate from my hand. I stood with shock, rooted to the ground as I witnessed it happening.

It took me a while to get my bearings back even after my palm had finished healing, and when I looked around, Helen and Xavier stood in the doorway of my bedroom, looking at my palm as well. Instinctively, I knew they saw what had happened to my palm as well. My sister gasped and went to my side, looking at my palm and then at the broken crucifix on my desk table. "Oh my goodness, are you okay?" she exclaimed as she examined my palm while holding it with her hand.

"I'm fine, don't worry, sis!" I smiled sheepishly and petted her head gently. But when I looked at Xavier, he was still in the doorway looking at me, and it wasn't that of concern.

It looked as if he wanted to kill me, as if he hated me. His eyes seemed to pierce my very soul as he looked at me.

Before silently slipping away, he mouthed these words to me that sent a shiver down my spine.

" _I'm going to kill you….alien."_

 _Later..._

At night, as I lay in my bed, I couldn't help but only think about two events: the healing of my injured hand and Xavier's sudden hatred of me.

 _Maybe my parents weren't lying to me when they said they found me in a space pod that landed in their backyard,_ I thought to myself. _The thing is, though, are my brother and sister aware of this?_

I remember my parents actually telling me the story of how I was adopted and urging me not to tell my brother and sister at anyy point whatsoever about the story, who,mind you,were still toddlers at the time when I arrived. But why though? Why keep it a secret that I wasn't human? Then again, the government could have come for me and deported me to some experiment facility that experimented with aliens or whatever..so...

I also speculated about something: if truly I am not from Earth, then where did I come from then? And why do I look like a human if I am an alien? These, and a flurry of other questions bombarded my mind, preventing me from sleeping.

Suddenly, my thoughts were cut short by a piercing scream from below. I immediately jumped out of my bed and shook with fear, cold sweat breaking out on my face. I then ran out of my bedroom and was met with a horrific sight.

My parents lay dead in a pool of their own blood, their nightgowns stained red as blood spread across the floor of the living room with the living room lights on.

And Xavier was holding a knife dripping with blood with a blood-stained hand against Helen's neck, her face contorted with fear and tears dripping down her face, looking at me pleadingly. He had wrapped his arm around Helen's waist and his face started to grin menacingly.

"Hello, brother...or should I say, _alien?"_ he said as he licked his lips in delight.

I knew the end of my world had come.


	3. Chapter 3

"Xavier, what the hell have you done?!" I screamed as i collapsed onto my knees, stunned by the gruesome sight in front of me, digging my hands into my hair.

"Oh, Mikey, I have just done what I felt was necessary!" Xavier laughed as he observed me with sick glee. "You see, I have already found out about your secret. You are not one of us,fucker."

"What are you talking about, Xavier?!" Helen sobbed and in response, Xavier pressed the knife blade harder on her throat, her blood flowing as a trickle on her neck. "He's your brother! Why have you done this to our family?"

"Oh, Helen, Helen, if only you knew.." Xavier smiled and caressed her cheek with one of his fingers, looking at her as if she was a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. "You see, Helen, our mom and dad only told us half the story about Michael's adoption...actually he wasn't even adopted to begin with! He was found when a space pod crashed into the backyard of our house one night, when you and I were still very young. Out parents lied to us, Helen!" He chuckled madly and uncontrollably as if he were high on drugs, and then, almost immediately, started sobbing."And they paid the price for it! I forced them to tell me everything before I killed them!"

He then stopped to catch his breath, before continuing. "But that's not the main reason why I killed them: you see, Mike, I actually was the favored one of the family before your ass landed into my life. Everything was perfect: I had a sister that was caring, my parents doted on me, my school life was perfectly normal..." He paused momentarily, and the next thing he said came out so loud my ear were ringing. "And then, you just had to come! You had to, of all people, be part of our family! AND GUESS WHAT?! Now in order to get their attention I have to get into fights and trouble at my school almost everyday because they were so busy trying to help you get through life with you being bullied all the time!You were a plague to my life, and you made me the black sheep of the family! In fact, my sister now is soooooo concerned about you as well, compared to last time when she was only concerned about me!" He panted after saying this, and whispered, "Why did your useless ass come into my life, Mike? WHY?! WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK AND HELPLESS?"

I took a moment to regain my bearings, and stood up, saying "Your parents loved you as much as us, Xavier! Its just that you were so jealous of me that you had to resort to extreme measures to get their love and affection! Of course they loved you, jackass! And who cares if I am an alien or not? I truly loved being in this family!" I sobbed violently and got on my knees again. "P...please Xavier...spare your...no...our sister. Kill me instead...you said I caused you misery right?" I looked at him pleadingly.

"Michael, no!" Helen screamed, as she started to struggle under Xavier's grasp. "Please I don't want you to die...you may not be human,but you are still my-"

"Its for the best, Helen," I said, smiling sadly at her. I stood up, and told Xavier, "Let her go. Now."

"Xavier scoffed and threw her onto the floor, throwing away the bloodstained knife. "Go, get out of here as fast as you can!" I told Helen.

"I love you, Michael...I am so sorry.." She sobbed and then bolted out of the house. I turned to then look at Xavier gratefully. "Thanks for showing mercy to-"

" _Mercy is for the weak..."_ he said. "Why should you be surprised?" His hand started to glow purple, purple lightning flashing out of his hand. I clenched my fists and awaited my fate. "You know, just thought I'd tell you...before I killed our parents, I actually discovered the space pod you came from in the basement of our house...and there was a huge storage of unknown energy in the engine that i was somehow able to absorb with my hands..."

"Heh...so you are smart after all huh...well guess mom and dad were telling the truth about me all along...me being an alien..." I chuckled to myself.

He then positioned himself to punch me, before saying, "Goodbye...Mikey..."

He then slammed the fist with lightning into my stomach, and everything turned into darkness.

When I woke up, my vision was clouded and blurry, and I struggled to see. However, it didn't take that long for my vision to get back to normal, and I realized I was lying on the seat of a car. I got up quickly and looked outside the window, seeing trees and buildings whizzing by in a blur.

"Oh, you are awake, son, that's good." I was startled and looked at the driver's seat.

The driver was a man with both white and black hair that was long and stylish, his hair ending in bangs and curled upwards, looking spiky in appearance. Despite his hair showing he was old, he looked quite handsome, his face looking quite oval in shape, and he also wore sunglasses. He also wore a white shirt and long brown denim jeans. He smiled reassuringly at me and turned to face me. "I actually found you on the road pavement while driving yesterday...man you looked really awful as hell...I thought you were dead at first, by God...you looked like you had been beaten up, with some bruises on your legs...luckily I patched them up already with First-Aids so it should be okay...damn you were unconscious for two days straight." He then turned his head back to focus on the road and drive. "Anyway, son, what's your name? My name's Edward, Edward Donbell."

"I'm...Michael Reeves...sir..." Actually I wasn't really paying attention at first, and it took me a while to respond to his question as I could only wonder: _How..did I survive being punched so hard by Xavier? And have I been flung all the way from my town to the middle of nowhere?_

"Um,sir...where are we exactly?"

"Oh, we're in Missouri, son. Why?"

My God.

So that was how far I was flung. From California all the way to Missouri . Wow.

"Never mind, sir, just asking," I responded after a while, grinning sheepishly.

"Mhm...anyway, son, I feel that you are...a bit strange.."

"Huh?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"When I carried you into my car, I felt that some part of you wasn't right...it felt like...you weren't exactly human. I-"

"Actually, there's a reason,sir."

"Um...just call me Edward from now onwards, 'kay? 'Sir' makes me feel old."

So I told him everything that had happened to me, some other details of my life and what I knew,since his character looked trustworthy enough, and besides, he helped me. Strangely, he heard and listened to my entire story as if he had heard it a million times before, and did not look at me in surprise or disbelief as I would have expected. He just nodded and furrowed his eyebrows, as if he was thinking.

"Ohhh...I see. So you're an someone from another planet flung onto Earth and then the events with your family happened..okay..actually to tell you...your house in California was reported on the news to have been burnt down...looks very familiar to the one in your story that you described."

"What?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. Actually I kinda already knew who did it though.

"Was it Xavier your brother that burnt down the house if I infer correctly?" he asked.

I just nodded in response.

"Wow...and you survived being punched by your evil brother all the way from California all the way to Arizona...that's amazing...you are truly not some any ordinary person" He paused, looking deep in thought and asked, "Do you wanna find your sister? I mean-"

"No, don't. My brother is still out there, and if he finds me and my sister again he's gonna kill me...and she'll get hurt in the process...we have to be separated for now...I don't want anything to happen to her."

"Um..okay I guess. Actually I kinda know what you saying...and I believe it."

I looked at him with surprise. "Why?"

He coughed before saying, "You see I have dabbled in this kind of stuff before...and I think I know where you came from."

"Really?" I said.

"No, not really, but i think you didn't come from another planet, Michael. I think you came from another universe to be exact." He looked at me and gave a grin before turning back to face the road."Son, you may not know this, but when we get back to your new house-my house,that is- I'm gonna show you my biggest secret...both my greatest achievement and failure."

 **Hey guys, ANIMELOL here...so i have been on hiatus and deleted the previous story due to the fact I felt I didn't describe enough of Xavier's and Helen's character...only their looks so I changed that and redid the story again...sry guys for any inconvenience caused.**

 **Anyway if u think that Adventure Time is not gonna be featured...well it will be soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

When we got to Edward's house, I must say, he is filthy rich. And no wonder he lives alone in the middle of some forested area.

His house looks more like a mansion for some celebrity like Jimi Hendrix than for a mere average guy. Then again, whatever alien research he dabbled in must have caught the attention and interests of the American government and hence they must have given him huge sums of money to make use of his information and technologies, so why am I surprised?

Anyway, his huge house was two stories high and surrounded by a metal fence with intricate objects sculpted on its bars, ranging from flowers to animals like birds. The front of his house was a beautiful marble fountain in the middle of a grass patch, an angel statue in the middle spurting out water from its sides into the basin surrounding it. The house was painted white all over and both stories had square windows dotting them, the upper floor having three windows while the bottom floor had two. Heck, there was even a huge porch leading to the door of his house with wooden chairs and tables on it. There were also a few open cages containing different varieties of birds, chirping loudly. I must say, I was impressed by his house, even surprised.

"Well, son, how does my house look?" Edward petted my shoulder and smiled proudly.

"Well...it looks really expensive and luxurious...how could you afford this?"

"Actually, the government pays for all my needs like my rent...and for good reason...tell you later why," he said as he unlocked the metal gate leading to the front of his house and we walked towards it. I wondered what awaited me when we went into his house...and what secret did he have exactly.

And wondering how his secret would impact me.

When we were inside, I was even more surprised. Far from the interior of the house being luxurious and rich-looking, as I would have expected, with the exception of a huge aquarium fitted into one of the walls of the living room, the interior of the house was...really quite normal. The living room only had a small television on a table, a large black sofa in front of a small table, a wooden shelf beside the sofa and a few lamps, nothing much, really. The kitchen had nothing luxurious it them either actually, just having the usual appliances and other stuff anyone would associate with a normal kitchen. "Hey..um...Edward," I said as I got out of the kitchen and went into the living room.

"Mm? What is it, Michael?"

"Why is the interior of your house so plain?"

"I don't like living fancy, to be honest. I could ask the government for more fancy stuff actually, but I like normality. It makes me feel more at ease in that way," he said as he settled himself onto his sofa near to the shelf,petting on the cushion to tell me to sit beside him. I could sense he didn't want so much luxury to be showered upon him as he wanted to be humble, though not really hinting at it.

I sat down beside him and asked, "So...what's this secret you wanted to tell me about?"

He sighed and opened one of the drawers of the shelf beside the sofa, taking out a small picture, showing it to me. "I think you might wanna see this first."

The photo was coloured, and in it I could see a young man in it i immediately identified as Edward, wearing a black suit and tie and sitting on a red velvet sofa next to a young and petite woman in a bridal gown. This woman had long, flowing blonde hair and held the hand of the young Edward in the photo, both smiling widely. I guess the woman must be his wife. "Um...why did you show me your wedding photo?" I asked as I handed it back to him.

"Well, glad you asked," he said and took a deep breath while looking at the photo, as if feeling sentimental. "You see, my wife in that photo was the love of my life. She was my compass and source of encouragement. Her name was Melissa White."

He sniffed slightly and took out a piece of tissue from his pocket, blowing into it before continuing. I guess he must have lost his wife in some way. "When I was young, I was obsessed with the universe we humans lived in. I literally pored over a myriad of books on astronomy and space science, awed by the wonderful universe God created. But that got me wondering about something after a while." He paused, and smiled slightly. "What if..we are not alone in this universe? What if, somewhere..there are others like us? At first, I tried researching on planets in our universe that had the conditions for life to flourish. Of course there were some planets that could, but it was doubtful to me whether life truly existed there or not, and whether there were other beings like us humans that had physical and mental capabilities like us, perhaps even superior. I gave up eventually during my college years, and came to a conclusion: there can perhaps be only life outside our universe. And indeed, I was proved right."

"One day, something happened to me that would change my life forever." He looked down and clasped his hands together as he spoke. "One night in 1952, when I was still in university,I was walking about outside my hostel when a sudden blue light flashed from the trees behind my dormitory. Curious, I ran to the place the blue light had come from. Strangely, I only found a brown-haired woman walking around confused in a white coat. I guess she might have been a scientist."

"Anyway, I approached her and asked where she was from, after introducing myself to her. Surprisingly, she backed away from me as if she was scared. It took me a while to reassure her that I didn't want to harm her, and then she told me that she was from another universe and had stumbled upon our Earth by accident." He chuckled and then said, "It was true: what I had concluded was right, that there was life in other universes. I then pleaded with her to tell me how it was possible for her to travel to our universe, and she gave in after some time,but charged me to keep my encounter for the time being and that she would answer my question on her universe tomorrow night, picking me up on the same spot where we were. Then, a blue portal appeared out of nowhere near us that glowed brightly, and before she walked into the portal and disappeared, she told me her name was Margaret Bonnibel."

He then excused himself to the kitchen to get a cup of water before coming back. After gulping his water down, he continued, "Now where was I? Oh yes...it took me a while to get my bearings after what had just happened, and quickly I looked around to see if anyone was with me. Thank God, no one was, and then I rushed back to my dormitory, excited for tomorrow night and pleased that what I had thought was true all along."

"My only closest friend in the Humanities stream and future wife in university, Melissa White, was the only one I told about my discovery and encounter, and she believed me, as she, like me, was interested in astronomy and the possibility of other universes, and on this we became best friends. You see, I was a very reclusive guy and really didn't interact with others well. She wanted to go with me to that other universe and I allowed her, but when it got to the point when Bonnibel was going to pick us up, she wasn't exactly eager on me bringing her along, and she berated me for breaking my promise, but eventually she reluctantly allowed me to bring Melissa along."

"When we stepped into the blue portal that Bonnibel had went through on our first encounter...oh boy, what I saw on that universe was...odd. But first,she showed us what had produced the portal and I was shocked, and some day maybe I will show you how that portal looked like and how it works. Anyway,back then both Melissa and I were shocked by all the new technology there...I could never describe to you what complex technologies I saw there. But not everything was perfect. Rampant poverty was in the area and it came to me that on that universe, the people were...more advanced than us in technology but much the same as us in modernity and standards of living, with there being high, middle and lower socio-economic groups. In fact the complex technology wasn't really available to everyone, and that was kind of a concern for me. The government run there was somewhat a democracy but also autocratic, though maybe I would say corrupt in some aspects."

"Of course, I never really pointed those details out to Bonnibel while she was showing me and Melissa around. At the end of our tour, she gave both of us a blueprint of how the portal looked like, instructions on how to build it and the materials needed to build the portal...and it was a really heavy load to carry. After going back to our Earth, we felt the need to spread this around and for our fellow humans to know that there is life on other universes and that we could prove it. You may not know this, but I was a great builder, architect and technician as I was taught by my parents on building stuff. So Melissa and I, during the term breaks, would work on building the portal and sure enough we had it erected in our backyard...yeah..." He sighed and put his hands on his face, before putting the down. "Now, I wished I hadn't done that. But I will explain why later. Anyway, of course people were skeptical of our claims at first and we took a while to convince them that our portal to travel to other universes works. And when it came to us demonstrating that it did...well it worked! We allowed them to see for themselves what we had said was true, and eventually our success spread very fast around the country to the point that the government,some other scientists and I agreed to collaborate on exploring the multiverse through a series of confidential meetings."

"But as always, my studies came first, and so I had to balance between meeting government officials and scientists and focusing on graduating from university, which I did, though not without difficulty. When Melissa and I both graduated, I proposed to her after some dates and we agreed to get married. And over the next few years...everything could never had been better for me." He smiled and looked up at the lights on the ceiling. "We had a son, we were funded by the government very generously to help in our research, given a really great house by the government, the one you are in now, and still had the same passion for exploring the multiverse...heck I have seen weird universes, from people who can control the elements to people who have superhuman abilities and powers. Everything was just...perfect, and I thought this would define the rest of my life." He sighed deeply and looked at his glass of water on the table. "Then, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And it came to an end due to one tragedy I'll never forgive myself for."

My heart went out to Edward and put a hand on his shoulder. He then started to sob and continued, "One day... me, Melissa and a group of scientists were in a research facility in Kansas working on travelling to a certain universe through one of the portals I had built...okay first just to tell you, I got a really huge amount of materials both by Bonnibel, whom I visited frequently for help and advice,along with the government, to create and build the multiverse portals. And on that day, everything was going perfectly until a malfunction cropped up in the system..and caused the portal to turn into a black hole. Don't ask me why, I'm still trying to comprehend why it happened myself. Anyway ,everything spiraled out of control at that point and...I lost not only all of the scientists I had worked with and spent good times together as friends for many years, but I also lost my wife..." Almost immediately, he broke down and cried, tears running down his eyes freely like waterfalls and his eyes red as blood. I really wished i could comfort him, but I knew that once some one is dead, he or she is dead, unless God resurrects the person.

It took a good while for him to calm down and he apologized for his outburst. "Its okay, Edward," I said. "Take your time." I smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks," he responded and smiled back. He sighed and continued. "Anyway, after that the government charged me after several meetings to keep silent about the incident and sent their condolences to me concerning the death of my wife, assuring me they would continue to fund me and pay for the , they told me that I was to stop my research on the multiverse and stop the building of my portals,deeming the research too dangerous to continue. I was so depressed that I would have stopped working on my research of the multiverse anyway, and went into isolation. Now, I'm just living in luxury and alone and with really nothing much to do,I work as a car repair man. I have stopped travelling to universes and have since not kept in touch with Bonnibel. Wonder how's she doing now. My son has also drifted away from me and despises me, refusing to visit me." He stopped and wiped his eyes with his hands. He then smiled at me sadly and said, "So yes, that's my story. Really complex and sad. You can see now why my discovery and research on the multiverse is both an achievement and failure. I wish now I had been interested in something else, so that none of this might have happened." He looked down and sighed.

"But Edward...it's your passion. And I'm inspired by you!" Edward turned and looked at me with surprise. "Why do you say that, son?"

"You know...after my family was broken and separated I might have actually killed myself because I felt I had failed to protect the family I had as a teenage boy that protected and cared for me though I am from another universe! But now, after listening to your story, I finally now have a new mission: to help you regain your passion in exploring the unknown and finding my family! I know you may not want it, but I wanna see the multiverse and how it looks like, and perhaps even find my original family! God has put me in your life to help not only myself but you, Edward!" I looked at him earnestly and smiled.

Upon this, tears brimmed from his eyes and he hugged me tightly, saying, "Thank you..thank you so much for understanding me. I thought I no longer had a reason to live...but you..you have given me hope!" He then let go of me and looked at me with eyes that showed determination. "When the time is right, I'll show you how the multiverse is like! I still have one research facility that hasn't been dismantled yet,because my wife and I used to work there in private. I did not destroy that one because I wanted to keep it as a symbol of my grief for her. Now, it has become a symbol of hope that my passion in exploring the multiverse is not dead yet."

And the next day, a new chapter of my life had begun.


	5. Chapter 5

I settled into Edward's house pretty well. I had a bedroom with a white queen-sized bed and blankets all to myself and some video games complemented with a video game console, which kinda reminded me of the video games my parents back in California used to give me whenever I did well in my tests or exams. Such was the sentimentality I had towards my former foster family, I guess. Anyway, I also discovered that a white metal spiral staircase that led to the upper floors had three rooms one of them my bedroom, and the other two a small gym room and bathroom. Edward also got me an iPhone, a very new phone to have though I had heard about it many times through gossip in my school and watching television. It had a touch screen and many applications shown on the home page that could be accessed by a touch of the screen. I was really quite surprised by the phone, if anything, as I never had a personal phone of my own before.

Overall, in the next two years I lived with my new friend and father, so to speak, we both really got along well. He told me a lot about his family and about their history, which was a bit strange. Sure, it was straightforward to me that his family was from Britain and had emigrated to North America in the 1700s to join the colonization efforts of the British, and remained mostly neutral during the years of the American Revolutionary War and Civil War, though nevertheless some of their men went to fight, though reluctantly. But something told me he was only tell half of the story of his family.

"Um, Edward, are you sure that's the entire story of your family that you are telling me?" I asked as we ate our dinner of lamb chops and mashed potato at his glass table covered with a white table cloth.

"Well,no,actually." He swallowed down his food and wiped his mouth with one of the white napkins placed near his plate. "You see, my family was Protestant,and yes, we were British, but we first went and settled into the Holy Roman Empire, in modern-day Germany. Our family was disgusted with the way the Catholic church was rife with corruption and avaricous in its practices during the mid 1500s, and when the Reformation began under Martin Luther, the head of our family during that time, John Donbell,along with many of our family members, joined a militant Christian group that was inspired by Luther's doctrine and bent on destroying Catholicism and replacing it with Protestant Christianity, not just in Germany but in all of Europe. To cut a long story short, that group failed and our family was forced to flee to England for sanctuary due to persecution of Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire."

"So, what was this group your ancestor joined exactly?" I asked.

"Well...that's something you will learn another time. I'll later give you the box containing the details, but promise me you will not open it until I am dead...I am not gonna live much longer anyway, considering I am like 76 years old. " He sighed and put down his cutlery on his plate, and leaning over to my side, ruffled my hair gently. "Sorry I can't spoil you the details ,lad, it's a promise that my family made to the leader of the group, Frederich Weiss, before he died: to never spread his story to anyone outside the family unless the family member who wants to tell it dies. Besides, our family is gonna go extinct anyway, my son is still a bachelor and I have not remarried since my wife's death. In addition most of my relatives are either dead or dying. In fact, just thought I would tell you this: my own parents died while I was still in college, so I had to support myself and pay for my needs through working odd jobs. Wasn't easy at first but I got used to it after a while."

My curiosity was plucked up by the origins of his family and I hoped to find out some day what group did he join. After dinner, he showed me the box in his bedroom on the first floor of his house, and it actually just a small, ordinary wooden box with a gold lock fastening the lid. He also gave me the key to open the box, and although I was tempted to unlock and explore the box's contents, I restrained myself.

In all, my years living with Edward were quite more or less normal, actually. He tutored me on my high school subjects since I wasn't in school anymore, and we actually did pretty normal stuff like watching television or just talking to one another. I never got bored of being with him as we always discussed about books, usually historical or political. His discussions on some books ,though maybe not making such a great impact on me, did implement this ideology in my mind: I must stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves against evil. He also taught me a little about playing the acoustic and electric guitar, and I was surprised I got used to playing it pretty quickly. I almost felt like I was in a family again.

But as always, good things must come to an end.

After two years of living with him, he one day suggested it was finally time for me to see the multiverse, and we started packing our belongings for the day before we headed to his remaining research facility in Kansas, after he had gotten permission from the government somehow by lying to them he needed to settle some things there. _Very smart of him,_ I thought to myself. I brought the large blue bag Edward gave to me to carry my belongings and kept the key and box he had given to me in it, while he packed both of our clothes and his belongings into his luggage bags.

Anyway, it was really a long drive in his car from Missouri to Kansas and I slept a lot during the journey except during toilet breaks behind bushes or service stops and when we stopped to eat at nearby restaurants along our route. It took quite a number of days to get to our destination and we had to stop at motels to rest at night.

Eventually we reached our destination,and by that time we were both exhausted from driving on the road for so long.

The research facility was a large building with windows only at the top of the building , to my surprise. It was painted black and white in colour and had the American military logo on top of the wooden door leading into the building. It was pretty plain to me, though it looked like it had been abandoned for a while.

When we got into the facility, boy was I in for a shock. Inside there were numerous complex gadgets positioned on black tables at the sides of the building, like a metal sphere floating and spinning on top of a metal plate. I could not describe in words how amazing all the gadgets I saw were. They all looked so complex and advanced.

And of course, there was Edward's portal, suited right at the back of the building.

The portal consisted of a large hollow metal ring that looked large enough for any normal human to go into, and through a mess of wiring branching from one of its sides it was connected to a power source that I presumed was outside the facility, and the wiring also led to some sort of white rectangular control panel on another black table a distance away from the ring. The control panel, surprisingly, though looking very complex, actually only had three parts: a huge red button, a glass panel displaying some information I couldn't understand at first glance, and a metal keypad with number, letters and symbols. _How does Edward function this thing?,_ I thought to myself, bewildered.

"Yeah, I know how you feel, I also had the same reaction when Bonnibel first showed me this portal," Edward said, clearly knowing what the expression on my face meant. "But it's actually quite simple to function, and although I wasn't really paying attention to how the portal functioned due to my shock at that time, I do know how to work with it." He ran a hand over the control panel and sighed. I guess he must really miss seeing his creation very deeply.

So Edward taught me, for like the next couple of minutes, briefly on how the portal worked, and it was pretty easy to get it down after that: type in the words "scan", a list of different named universes comes up, and when you go into one of the options by touching the screen, information would be given about the universe, like if there is life on any planet, along with other details. Of course, Edward told me we had to bring a few weapons along just to be safe, and in a short amount of time, we were armed with whatever was on the tables, with laser guns and more.

"Alright, we're ready to go," he said as he brought out a small blue box about the size of my palm, and when he opened it, it revealed a red button in the center of the box, and, when he closed it, he gave it to me. "This box will activate the portal that will lead you back here should you want to get out. Don't worry, I've one myself." He smiled and walked over to the control panel, and on pressing the red button, a whirring sound was produced and in the ring a blue glowing circle started to emerge and fill up the hole of the ring. I looked in awe at this for a few moments before Edward tapped my shoulder and said, "Let's go in, Michael. You won;t be disappointed!" We then walked into the blue portal, and I wondered what awaited me.

What I saw in the world that Edward described to me, however, was nothing like what he had described.

All I saw were buildings, both big and small, damaged and crumbling, and cars on the road that were badly in need of repairs. In addition the sky was really grey and gloomy, and smoke rose from small flames on both roads, vehicles and buildings. In fact everything I was seeing and what would be on our Earth was damaged, many of them dotted with fungi or black spots, probably ash. There were also some human skeletons draped all over the area, and lamp posts lay on the road. But that was not the most disturbing aspect: what was even more creepy was that there was a deafening silence all over the area. No animals making noises, no wind,no humans...just pure silence. I also noted that I was standing on a white-tiled floor surrounded by walls with cracks and that looked incomplete, implying that we were in the remains of a long-gone building. It felt that we were standing on the ruins of a past civilization. Both me and Edward looked at what was in front of us with shock and disbelief, though Edward has more of those feelings than me.

"No...this can't be...what happened to the world that I saw so many years ago...?" He went onto his knees and looked down in despair.

I had gotten my bearings back and went over to Edward, putting a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "Maybe..this is the wrong universe?"

"No, it is the right one...I selected the right universe Bonnibel was in...how did it.." He ran his hands through his hand and breathed in to try and relax.

I honestly could sympathize with him. After all, he wanted to show me a world where life was on another universe. Yes, there was, but now it was all gone, as far as I could see. I sighed and said, "Well, it won't do good now to despair. I mean, you were right, there is life on the universe that is technologically advanced as us, just that..maybe that life is mostly...wiped out." Honestly I really did not know what to say to comfort Edward.

At this, he got up and breathed in deeply, though perhaps resignedly. "Maybe we can search for Bonnibel in this area...I mean she should still be here...right? And maybe, just maybe, there are still traces of life on this world..."

So we continued walking through a city that had long been reduced to rubble and in a post-war world. As we continued walking through the city, I noticed something...off. On some of the damaged buildings I saw, there were lumps of pink stuff strewn on them like party streamers, looking really a lot like candy floss. _That's strange...what exactly happened to this world? And why would candy be produced after such a war even?_ I thought. Being in this world both interested me and scared me.

"Actually, Edward, where are we going exactly?"

"Oh, we're actually heading to Bonnibel's house to see if she left any clues to where she might have went and also to find out more about what happened here...okay, we are almost-" He was cut short by a sudden shrill scream.

"HELP!"

My ears were ringing with pain after that, and my heart was pounding furiously as I had been startled. Edward looked as shocked as me and we both looked at each other, confused about what that was. It seemed like a girl's voice.

"DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU CREEPS! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

We both ran fast but as silently as possible in the direction where the scream was coming from, with our hands armed with guns to prepare for the worse, and with the cries for help ever growing more intense. Thank God for all those hunting sessions Edward and I used to go on, if not I would not be able to know how to use guns.

When we got to the place, we saw something really shocking. A girl with hair that flowed upwards like a flame and with glowing orange skin and in a white dress was being cornered into a wall of a building and surrounded by many weird-looking guards in with charcoal-black skin, about twenty or so. They looked really tall and muscular in build though their lower arms and legs were very thin,and had a number of spikes coming out of their heads and lighted at their tips with flames, making their heads look like chandeliers. Their eyes were red in colour and looked to have no mouth, though maybe I could be wrong, as they could speak. A red scar that looked like lightning was on their waist and they all held a spear, except that the tip of the spear was a candle lighted on fire.

"Please, princess Phoebe, your father is deeply worried-" One of the soldiers began.

"I don't care! My father hates me and never loved me! And now he's worried about me? What kind of father keeps his own daughter in a lantern like a prisoner?!" Her hands lit up and shot balls of fire at the soldiers, at which all of them ran for cover, spears pointed at her.

Edward, observing the whole situation, was as stunned as I was, but he said, "I think we should get out of here...", grabbing my arm. But inside, I could not just leave her to be bullied by her father. In fact, I felt really angry that Phoebe could be treated like this, and wanted to save her from the misery she was put through. I truly saw her like me, always being picked on. "No, Edward, we need to save her-"

"Are you serious now, Michael?!" he whispered, as we were close to the drama unfolding before us. "Look,we are gonna get killed! Look, I also wanna save her after hearing what she just said, but we are going to get into serious danger trying to save her!" He grasped my shoulder gently and sighed, obviously seeing that I was determined and not going back on my word. "Okay, are you sure you wanna do this?" I nodded. He sighed again and we prepared our laser guns. "Let's do this," he said.

And we started firing at the Fire soldiers, which were take aback by our presence. Our shots managed to pierce them and we killed quite a number of them. They eventually managed to get their bearings though and one of them shouted, "Boys, get them!" and as one they charged at us.

"Michael, get the girl! I'll hold them off," Edward said as he continuously fired into the guards. I ran quickly to where Phoebe was and seeing she was a bit dazed, said gently, "C'mon, we gotta go. Don't worry, we'll protect you." Actually I almost wanted to touch her arm but quickly realized she was made of fire. She nodded and in response." Yeah, sure, but why are you-"

"No time, we gotta go!" I shouted and we both ran to where Edward was, but unfortunately he paid a price for backing me up.

His shirt was stained red and burnt to tatters at his stomach, and he stood weakly as he fired at the guards nearing him, his face looking very pale. Blood coughed up out of his mouth. _No, I can't let him die here,_ I thought as memories of us flashed in my mind. He was my friend and family, I couldn't let him down. Tears brimmed in my eyes and screaming, I shot my laser gun madly at the guards, and they immediately turned their attention to me. Phoebe also shot fire balls at them, and one of them got himself smashed into a building.

"I'll cover you!" Phoebe said to me as she unleashed her power on them. I rushed to Edward's side as he nursed his wound, on his knees. "Edward, are you okay? We can always-"

"No, it's too late now, Michael, I have been mortally wounded," he said as I helped him to lie down on the ground. He winced at the pain from his wound and smiled at me, holding my hand. "Hey, buddy, don't cry," he said as he wiped my tears on my cheek as they fell off my face. "It's okay, Mike, everything's okay...I'm fine..I am gonna die anyway..." He then coughed out blood violently and it streamed down his cheek.

"Edward, you've helped me all these years, you are like another family! I'm not gonna lose you now,not here,not again,not this time. Look, we'll get back to Earth and then-"

"No, Michael,I'm sorry, but you have to be strong on your own, and I believe you can make it through life pretty well without me.." He smiled again before continuing weakly."But, you have made so happy after so long of feeling depressed...I haven't been this happy ever since my wife's death, and now...now I can die with joy in the fact that I will see God and Melissa..every one of my family,soon..." He sighed with satisfaction and looked up at the sky."Thank you Michael, for everything, and for coming into my life...if only my son was here...with me..." His arms then went limp and his eyes closed. At this, I started to sob as my tears fell on Edward's lifeless body and screamed,looking up at the sky. _Why? Why did I lose another family? Why do things always go so wrong for me?_ I thought to myself as I looked down at the ground, crying and sobbing. Everything was a blur and all I could think of was why these things were happening to me.

And then, a sharp pain came to my neck and I fell to the ground, darkness once again blotting out my sight.


	6. Chapter 6

As I lay in total darkness, a voice suddenly spoke out of nowhere. _Do you still not understand?_ I opened my eyes and stood up, looking around for the person who had made the voice. Strangely though, the voice sounded like mine...though perhaps sounding older and hoarse. I couldn't see anyone though, as darkness still seemed to cover my vision.

 _One day, you will truly understand that being the hero is not always the right thing to do,_ the voice continued. I was confused. What did he mean by that? I looked around more fervently and shouted, "Who are you? What are you saying to me?"

 _I am you, weakling. I am what you will soon become._ What I would soon become? Now this was interesting. This voice has been talking to me in cryptic sentences I cannot seem to decipher. And why did he call me a weakling?

 _You couldn't even save the very mentor that cared for and fed you all these years, and yet you tried to save a girl you don't even know? Ha, that's hilarious. Haven't you heard about putting your family first?_ the voice said in a mocking tone. In defense, I shouted, "How was I supposed to know that Edward would die if I tried to be a hero? At least he died happy-"

 _Don't give me bullshit. You only know how to save others but you don't know how to save the ones you love and those closest to you. Love your neighbour as yourself? If you use that to defend yourself I have to say you are too dense. Hell, you don't even know how to carry out what's necessary, like putting your mentor's safety first before some stranger you only just met._ The voice was getting more and more mocking...as if it seemed to detest my very existence. Shivers ran down my spine as my heart started pounding against my chest, terrified by the voice.

 _But that's okay, you are still young. You don't know how's it's like to be in my shoes, but one day you will. And you will one day find out that there are no such things as heroes, and that the strong do what they can, while the weak suffer what they must, and what is the definition of doing what's necessary._ At this, the voice broke into cackled laughter, and at that point I just ran blindly in the darkness, not knowing where was I going. I just wanted to get away from the voice, and sweat poured out of my face as I ran, heart pounding wildly and my breaths increasing in intensity and rate.

At that point, when I felt I couldn't take it anymore, I woke up.

My eyes were met with a maroon ceiling as I lay on the ground, and strangely it felt slightly hotter than usual, as though I were in a furnace. I looked at my hands and saw that it was blue in colour. Surprised, I checked other parts of my body and found that they were blue as well. I got up and looked around to see where I was exactly.

It looked like I was in some sort of prison, with each cell consisting of a maroon-coloured rock bed( wonder how anyone could sleep on that) and metal bars like the ones back on Earth's prisons. The same soldiers I had seen earlier marched through the walkways along the cells, with many prisoners mocking them and shouting expletives to them. All of them spoke English and were not human like me, ranging from talking slime blobs to talking wolves with human-like features. Torches lit up the prison and by looking up through the bars of my cell, I could see that the prison was huge with lots of cells and stories and everything in the prison was mostly the same colour of maroon, though perhaps in different hues. I went back into the interior of my cell and tried to reason out what had happened to me, and suddenly, I thought of Phoebe, that girl whom Edward and I tried to save from her father. Wonder why he treated his daughter so badly. I sat on the rock bed and tried to think about how was I going to get out of this mess. Another thing that came to my mind was that I was even in the prison at all. Why didn't they just dispose of me? After all I was just an ordinary human and did not have anything to do with the kingdom where Phoebe had come from, except perhaps trying to save her. So why spare me? And where was Phoebe? Also how was I gonna get on with my life without Edward to guide me?

At that point a knock on the gate snapped me out of my daydream and I looked up to see that two soldiers were outside my cell, one of them unlocking the gate using a key and opening it with a creaking sound. "The Flame King would like to see you, human. Come with us and don't you dare try anything funny," the soldier said in a gruff and deep voice as I quickly grabbed my bag and wore it, remembering the box Edward gave to me. They then took me by the arms and walked alongside me, leading me to their king.

We had to climb a few stories up the prison before we got to the entrance leading out of it. As we walked on a rocky road, I saw that it was on a lake of molten lava and that all of the kingdom's inhabitants passing by me were made out of fire and rock, except that their bodies were varied to certain extents. Heck there were even dogs that were made out of lava and stone with yellow eyes. I was beginning to realize that the entire kingdom was made out of fire and lava, from lava waterfalls to tall rocky maroon structures and more. We walked through the market square of the kingdom and I saw that many of the people looked at me weirdly as if I was something they had not seen before. _Strange,_ I thought.

As we neared the palace, I was awed by how large it was. It looked like a tent except made out of rock, with many hollow and curved tubes protruding out of its walls. There were many hollow triangles dotting it, and the door was a large triangle guarded by two soldiers on each side. This was truly a complex society, which was surprising considering the fact that I had only seen ruins of civilization on this world. Anyway, the soldiers dragging me to the palace conversed with the other two soldiers guarding the door before the door swished open automatically as I approached the door with the guards.

Inside the palace, there were two flights of stone stairs surrounded by the same protruding structures I had seen earlier,except they were not hollow. On these stairs sat what I presumed to be the nobility of the kingdom, and in between these two stairs was a throne made up of those protruding structures, as a giant flame with dark-yellow small eyes and mouth sat on the throne, with bronze armour and red ruby crystals decorating the collar of his armour. He also had a red ruby on the top of his head that looked like a small flame. Guess that must be his crown. On top of him, hung by two ropes, was a giant oil lamp. And in the lamp was Phoebe, looking at me helplessly. Oh, how I wished I could free her. _So that's how he imprisons his daughter. By putting her in a giant lamp,_ I thought to blood was already boiling and about to burst out of my body as I felt angered by this injustice done to this poor young girl about my age. She was like me, being put down by others and despised.

The Fire King looked at me for a few moments with a mixture of scorn, anger and wonder as rubbed his chin with his hand. The nobles on the stairs also looked at me with more or less the same expressions. Then, he sighed and chuckled. "You know, of all the things I thought I would ever see in my entire life, a filthy human like you would be the last thing on my mind ever since almost all of humanity was wiped out many centuries ago." He stopped and then looked at me mockingly. "Guards, make him kneel." I was forced onto my knees, although every part of my body told me to defy him and what he was doing to humiliate me. I then remembered at that point what Edward told me once: _Never rebel against those who are more powerful than you unless you are equal to or superior to them in that aspect._

"But I didn't bring you here for no reason," he said, as he leaned back against his throne. "You see, while you were unconscious for...about two days, I guess...my daughter told me she is...interested in you and would like to spare your life." I was shocked at this and looked up at Phoebe in the lamp above, looking at her with mouth wide open. She responded by giving a reassuring smile. _What a beautiful smile she has...pity that she has to go through this..._

"Normally, because you harmed my soldiers and hindered them in their mission, and also because you are human, I would have put you to death,but..." In response, all of the nobles shouted in unison and scorn, "Yes filthy human, you better know now that our Majesty's mercy upon your worthless soul has saved your skin!"

Tears that felt like fire brimmed in my eyes as I struggled to contain my anger at this abuse hurled at me, and I tried to prevent the tears in my eyes from flowing out and showing that I was affected by their insults. _When you are insulted by others, don't show that you are offended by them. Their words are nothing but a dust and cannot harm you in any way._ I repeated that over and over again in my mind as I looked down at the ground, remembering what Edward had taught me.

"Everyone, that's enough! Father you can't treat him like this, he just tried to save me out of compassion. It's my fault that he's in this, please show mercy to him and let him go!" Phoebe suddenly shouted, looking defiantly at her father from the lamp, silencing all the nobles' insults at once.

"Girl, you better know that I am your goddamn father, you spoiled brat! And you should really choose people better than this..this...piece of trash kneeling before me like a common dog! You may be a Fire elemental, but I'm still your father! " The Fire King, breathing heavily from shouting at his daughter, took a while to calm down before continuing, "As I was saying, since my daughter is interested in you, I'm gonna make you an exception and not put you to death...but you must do something for me. In exchange for doing what I have told you to do, I will give my daughter to you and you can both leave the Fire Kingdom together. In other words, I will let her go free." I was already pissed off with this arrogant and self-righteous king and asked him with gritted teeth, "What is it that you want?"

"I want the Enchridion," he said. "That book contains immense magical powers that I want for myself, you see...for personal reasons." He smiled at me and interlocked his hands together. "But let me ask you, human. Why do you think that I locked my daughter in this lamp? Is it because I'm cruel and selfish?" He paused for a moment before continuing. " You see, when Phoebe was born, my wife had died in childbirth and I found myself mourning over the loss of my beloved wife, and hence felt the need to take care of her as a living memory of my wife. But then, a problem cropped up. My daughter, when she was still a child was...volatile and rowdy, to say the least. And upon hearing from oracles in the kingdom that she could be even more powerful than me, I became worried that one day she might leverage upon this aspect to overthrow me once she became older."

"So as a protective measure, I asked a messenger to send her away from the kingdom and out of my sight. Of course, she caused a whole lot of trouble due to her uncontrollable nature in the land of Ooo on where this kingdom is, for your information. The Candy Kingdom became involved and hence its leader, Princess Bubblegum,nagged me to keep my child in control or else she would do it herself. And that's why in the end, I locked her up in this lamp." He chuckled and got up from his throne, walking towards me before stopping a distance away from me. "Do you now see why my daughter is in that lamp? It is to prevent Ooo from falling into chaos and to preserve my throne from an uprising. And that's also why I need the Enchridion: to make sure she never becomes more powerful than I am. All this I have done with well-meaning and wise intentions."

I looked up and saw that Phoebe was looking at her father with resentment. Honestly I could relate, as I had a taste of her father's arrogance and wrath already. "So, as I honestly don't want my daughter to be in this kingdom any more, here's the deal: find the Enchiridion within the year or never come back here, because the moment you come back crawling without the book, your head will roll. Got that? You better prove you are not the weak and useless human I think you are, unless you want to back down now and get out of my sight." He said it sarcastically, obviously thinking I was not up to the task and expecting me to beg to be freed. The nobles were already giggling with delight at the Fire King's insult in agreement. I kept my tongue from flabbing despite my anger and stayed where I was kneeling. When, after a while, he observed I had not refused his request, he sighed. "I guess you really want to be with my daughter after all, don't you?" He folded his arms, obviously disappointed that I did not back down but amused that I wanted to carry out his request.

"Flambo, my daughter's companion and friend, will later give you the supplies you need for your journey. He's the one who gave you that blue covering or Flame Shield on your skin to protect you from the intense heat of our kingdom." He then went up a flight of stairs to a platform near the lantern and pushed a lever on the platform that caused the lantern to lower down to the ground, and one of its sides opened, allowing Phoebe to get out, rushing to my side.

The guards beside me made me stand up and Phoebe accompanied them as we walked out of the palace. Before we got out, the Fire King shouted to me, "Good luck, human, because you're going to need it. BADLY!" before laughing out sadistically, with the other nobles as well joining in. I had to keep telling myself, _Don't listen to them, Michael. They can't hurt you. Just show them that you are not the weak person they think you are. And you can surely accomplish the mission being tasked to you and free Phoebe from this hell, because God is with me._


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm so sorry about my father, he's really very arrogant and a dick when it comes to three things: me, my mother and humans..." Phoebe said, as she held my hand and walked with me as I was escorted to Flambo's house.

"Nah, it's cool...I've had experience with these kind of people before," I said, grinning sheepishly. "Besides, he may be your father but I know better that these kinds of people cannot affect me with their scathing words." Honestly, I really could not be bothered with the Flame King's insults hurled at my face. I knew better than to lash out in anger against this arrogant and hypocritical king. Better that my head be still upon my head rather than rolling on the ground for just a moment of pleasure letting out your anger against someone superior. Anyway, Phoebe's presence kept my mind at peace as she really treated me kindly and well. I could not believe this, but I felt I may love her.

"You know when my father said that my mother died during the time she gave birth to me?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked, already knowing that one way or another the Flame King was not telling the entire story to me about Phoebe.

"My mother was actually the legitimate ruler of the Fire Kingdom, and my 'father' was originally a high-ranking noble that, although not made leader of the kingdom, was given important responsibilities by my mother due to her trust in him.I don't know who's my original father though." She bit her lips tightly, clearly showing anger. "But then, my father made use of the love and power given to him to overthrow my mother in a coup and seize the throne for himself, killing her in the process and establishing a new dynasty in his name." Orange tears were starting to flow down her cheeks as she spoke. "So the reason my father hates me is not only because he thinks I'm too powerful; he also sees me as a threat to his position as king due to the fact I was descended from my mother, from the legitimate dynasty. After seizing power he killed all his opponents within the common people and purged the nobility, replacing them with his cronies, most of them thugs. My family ruled the kingdom with virtue and efficiency, showing mercy whenever they could, but this cruel and mad king-no, despot- has turned the kingdom into his own playground, not really caring for the people and just serving his own interests. His dynasty is going to plunge this kingdom into destruction if this keeps up."

As I listened to her story, my mind drifted back to the time when the mysterious voice spoke to me.

 _The strong do what they can, while the weak suffer what they must._

Was the story of how the Fire King rose to power an example of that? Perhaps. But one thing was for sure: I need to help those who cannot help themselves and protect them from their oppressors in order to prove to myself that what the voice said was not true. But why did something inside me feel that I was gonna be proven wrong one day?

When we got to Flambo's house, which was basically a giant rock that resembled a house, Phoebe knocked on the door and I was met by a small fire cat-like creature that had stubby arms and legs, with a long fiery tail. He was standing on two legs, which was pretty surprising to me since given the shape of his body he should not had been able to stand up like that. What was even more surprising was that he could talk, unlike the fire dogs I had seen earlier.

Flambo looked up at us with surprise for a while before saying, "Well, hello there princess nice to see you! Come in, come in!" He then gestured to the guards to go back to the palace before me and Phoebe went into the house.

Inside, there was a bed with woolen sheets on it and a small plate of coals at one corner of the room(which I assume is what Flambo eats). There were also some books, canned food, a map and some weapons laid on the floor of the house like a bow and arrow and a sword. The house was really plain,to be honest. I had some knowledge of using them actually, since Edward had trained me to use them to be prepared to fight any danger while he was still alive we might have had encountered travelling in the multiverse. Tears were already brimming in my eyes just thinking about it, but I wiped away them quickly.

Flambo walked up to me and observed me with a look of suspicion at first before breaking out into a grin that I could not help but smile at as well. "Well, human, I'd say, you look pretty handsome! And strong, too. Honestly, I was expecting the princess's choice of companion to be really bad, but, wow, you actually seem fit for her! That is, if you can prove it." He petted me on the leg, but all of I could think of was; _What the hell? Phoebe was really interested in me? God, I though her father was lying when he said that but wow! She actually loves me!_ I looked up at Phoebe, giving her a look of shock. She just shrugged and smiled. Damn, her smile was really beautiful to look at. I could not help looking at her, and did that for a few moments that seemed like forever to me before I was pulled out of my daydream by Flambo's talking.

"Anyway,human-"

"Call him Michael, Flambo," Phoebe said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Oh, yes, sorry princess,ahem...as I was saying, Michael, you're gonna be on a long trip finding the Enchiridion, so you're gonna need supplies to keep you going on your journey...and to make sure you don't die out there." Flambo sighed and walked over to the spread of items on the floor.

"Here's is the map of the land of Ooo, and I have marked down the place where the book is," Flambo said, pointing at the map. I looked at it and saw it was really...strange, to say the least. It only showed one giant piece of land with many coloured areas, many of them labelled as weird-named kingdoms like the Candy Kingdom and the Goblin Kingdom. And the place where the book was located: it was labelled as a red cross somewhere between the Candy and Ice Kingdom. _This might not be easy as I hoped it might have been...but I guess I'll have to make do.._

"By the way, just thought I'd say this: the Enchiridion is guarded by a powerful and evil entity bent on destruction, known as the Lich. You might need to be prepared for the worse, that means, you're probably gonna die...but look, all you need to do is to grab that book and get out of there. The point I've marked is a mountain which you will need to climb using the stairs in there to go up to where the book is. Easier said than done, unfortunately for you. Although I wanted to give you more supplies to fight the Lich, the Flame King is bent on making your quest a hard one. I think he wishes to see you fail."

 _Wow, thanks a lot, Flame King. Just because the daughter you mistreat is interested in me, a mere human,you are making my quest arduous._ I shook my head in disbelief, wondering what was his logic in planning this. Phoebe looked at me and nodded in agreement, sighing. Nevertheless I knew I had no choice if I wanted to save Phoebe: either I back down now and live my life with regret not saving her, or I could choose to do what he had taught me all these years and free someone from oppression. Besides, I knew that if Edward were in my shoes he would have done the same though it was crazy and dangerous.

Everything else was just Flambo going through my other supplies and instructing me on where to meet him after I had returned with the Enchiridion within the year. After I had packed up everything I had needed in my bag, Flambo said, "I can tell you guys wanna be alone for a while. Don't take too long though." He winked at us before walking out and closing the door and Phoebe and I blushed, our cheeks turning red. I could feel my cheeks were burning and I smiled.

"Soooo..."I started as we both sat down on the bed.

"Hey, Michael, don't be so reserved with me," Phoebe said as she inched closer to me until her body was pressing against my arm, as she rubbed her hand on my chest gently. "Besides, I love you, and we are all alone now..sooo..." She pushed me onto the bed and started biting my neck, nuzzling her face into my neck. My heart was pounding wildly at this point as we touched each other, my body stiffening with excitement at her skin in contact with mine. I played with her hair and she looked up, smiling as she put her hands under my shirt and rubbed my stomach. "You wanna kiss? Maybe we could even-"

"Actually, Phoebe, what made you interested in me?" I asked,holding her arms. She smiled and rested her head on my chest before saying, "When I saw that you were rescuing me, I felt as if that someone actually cared about me...you know? I have never been truly loved ever since my mother's death, and with my 'father' always treating me badly I felt betrayed and felt I couldn't trust anyone." She then ran a hand through my hair gently. "By the way..I'm sorry about your friend...I wish he didn't had to die...I-"

"It's cool, Phoebe,you didn't cause his death" I said, pulling her close and kissing her on the cheek. "My mentor died happy...and although I miss him I can't bring him back from the dead...besides, I gotta move on...I need to protect you.." I pulled her to me and nuzzled against her neck, my hands exploring her back.

"I really love you, Michael...so much...you are really kind and caring..." We looked at each other for a few moments, and as our faces slowly inched closer to one another, Flambo burst into the house and shouted, "Michael, don't kiss her!"

Phoebe and I both jumped off the bed in shock, and turned to look at him, looking visibly worried. "Michael...could we talk outside for a while? Alone?" I shrugged and petted Phoebe's head, saying," It won't be long, just wait a while..." She looked at me questionably before smiling, "Sure, no problem!"

When I was outside, Flambo looked about nervously and curious, I asked, "What the hell's going on Flambo? Why did you say I couldn't kiss her-"

"Look, man, I like you, alright, you're a good person, but you can't kiss her no matter how much you are in love with her!" he said, talking very softly to me. But why though? Flambo sighed deeply before continuing.

"Okay, here's the thing: remember Flame King told you that her daughter could be even more powerful than her? It's partly true: you see, because of the immense power in her, if you kiss her, the strong emotions of love would cause her to go unstable and release a hugeeee amount of energy that, if not prevented, could cause the Earth's core to collapse! In other words, this world could be destroyed if you kissed her, along with her!"

"Why are you only now telling me this?" I asked.

"Because I suddenly remembered while waiting outside about what Princess Bubblegum told me about Flame Princess- yes, that's her other name-so I quickly sensed danger and,well,here we are." Flambo shrugged. "I'm sorry, bro, but if you truly love her, you might not wanna get so physical. Or rather, do not kiss her on the lips! But...please don't tell Flame Princess...please?"

Numbed by this new discovery, I merely nodded and went back to talk to Phoebe, acting as if everything was okay. However I took Flambo's advice and tried not to be so intimate with her. _God, why was she cursed to never be able to love anyone? It's not as if she chose this life..._

Anyway, Flambo and I went out of the kingdom through a tall mountain with lava afterwards after saying goodbye to Phoebe, the secret revealed to me repeating in my head again and again like a broken recorder. And remembering something Edward told me: _Not one of us can choose the lives we want to live, and whether our lives are good or bad, perfect of imperfect, we cannot control our destiny through our own will. In other words we're slaves to destiny. But it doesn't have to be that way with God, for with him, all things are possible._

How I wish that were true for Phoebe.I really wanted to save her, that poor and kind girl. As I climbed up the rocky mountain, I turned to look at the Fire Kingdom one last time, promising myself and Phoebe I would return and save her, God-willing if I stayed alive.

And I stepped into a world full of danger and uncertainty, not looking back.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey Flambo, could I ask you something?"I asked as we finally were out of the Fire Kingdom's realm, thank God, into an area full of green grass and blue sky, after walking for what seemed like hours.

"Mmhm...sure?"

"What happened to this world anyway? Why are there no humans that exist here? I mean, I saw-"

"Look, I wasn't born at like the creation of this world you see now, okay, so I really don't know about anything that happened before that made every single human to go extinct...I'm truly sorry. But why did you ask?" Flambo said, turning around to face me with confusion.

"Ehhh...because the Flame King expressed surprise, albeit with much disdain, that a human would be standing before him. " We then walked for most of the way in silence, and as I walked I kept thinking: _Will I survive this quest that I have put myself in? Am I doing the right thing? Maybe I should use that remote that Edward gave me to go back to Earth..._ When it came to that thought, I shook my head and cursed myself for thinking such things and doubting my decision. I could not just lieave Phoebe in that hell with her father, I had to rescue her. I would not have saved her this way, but for now I have absolutely no control of the circumstances that I am in now, and had to move on from where I was and complete the mission the Flame King had tasked to me to save Phoebe, though it was questionable if that kind of king would keep his promise.

"Alright,I'm gonna have to leave you here now, we will meet again, right in front of this forest right in front of us. This is where the route to where the Enchiridion is starts. Its the nearest location to your destination, and although I would have chosen a better starting point,this is the nearest I can bring you as...you know why," Flambo said, pointing to a huge forest right in front of us with a dirt track leading into the forest. He then turned around to leave after saying, "I would have gone along with you, but the Fire Kingdom has spies all over Ooo. Actually the Flame King did not want me to direct you to the forest we stand before now, but I defied his orders as honestly, I also hate him and also really like you. You aren't bad as the Flame King said you are Anyway, good luck my friend and hope to see you alive!" As he walked back to the Fire Kingdom, he stopped and looked down at the ground for a while, as if he was thinking about something, before shrugging and continuing on his way. _That was..odd..._

But seriously, I could not care less about what was Flambo thinking and walked into the forest, not looking back.

 _Some days later..._

I have been walking about in the forest trying to find a way out of there, and it is going pretty well. Because of Edward's training in camping skills, using weapons and the like, I have been coping well on my own( though maybe food is pretty hard to find in the forest, and sleeping on logs and grass every night is damn uncomfortable especially when it rains, because I was not given a tent). Nevertheless, despite my overall good success at survival, I gotta find someone to help me find the Enchiridion and perhaps get more information about what I am finding and this Lich guy that guards the book. Hmm, I am not too sure how will I find my way to my destination but I guess it will work out...hopefully. I mean although the map did not show me where the book is specifically, I guess I could still find it...right?

Though I had been given quite a lot of food and water to last me for about 4 months or so if I curb my intake, I also need someway to get more supplies given how long the journey would be to the spot marked on the map. Thankfully, I have been thought to read maps before in my high school in all those boring Geography lessons I had bothered to listen to, but this map was a still bit too vague to fully understand(wonder why?). It was overgeneralized and crude. Maybe even outdated. No doubt, the Flame King's work.

As I sat on a wooden log thinking, I heard someone talking behind a large bush behind me and I stood up. My curiosity was pricked and I went through the bush to find a short dog walking on two legs on an open ground with dark-yellow fur and a grey fedora on his head with a black ribbon. He also had a huge scarlet sword that was strapped to his back that had a handle made of leather straps and a red spike protruding from its end. It had a guard made of a cross and circle, and its blade was really long. Wonder how he could possibly carry that huge monster of a sword. He also carried a brown book in his hand and a brown bag.. He was talking to himself and rubbing his head, as if he was in deep thought. "Alright, I'm almost out of this forest...now.." He then turned to me and twitched his eyebrows in surprise to see me. We looked at each other for the next few moments before the dog blinked and said, "Um...hello."

"Eh...yeah," I mumbled.

He sighed and asked, "Looks like you got a lot of supplies and weapons with you. Are you on a quest? 'Cause I kinda am too actually. Oh, by the way, my name's Joshua."

"My name's Michael. And I'm on a quest to look for the Enchiridion." At that, Joshua widened his eyes in surprise and laughed with delight, slapping his thigh. "Well, well, what luck I have! You are on a quest for the same relic as I am! But why though, fellow adventurer?"

"Um...I also have heard of the book and I'm..curious about it." I felt scared to tell him the truth as after all, the book was a hero's book, and looking at the situation he might refuse to accompany me on my adventure. After all, I am in desperate need of help and guidance on my quest as I was after all in unfamiliar surroundings. Joshua smiled widely and, walking up to me, nudged me with his elbow. "Well, to tell you the truth fella, you are a blessing! I absolutely forgot to bring enough supplies on my quest in a hurry , and in return I'll help you find the book. Believe me...I know where it is already and I have seen it."

I was shocked and my mouth dropped open. "Then...then why don't you have it?"

Joshua sighed and looked up. "The Lich defends the place where the Enchiridion is, and I have fought with him before on a previous attempt. Heck, I almost lost my life even though I was fighting with the sword you see I have now with me. And this sword is actually made of demon blood." I put a hand on my head in amazement and asked, "R-really? Wow...that's seriously cool..."

"Yeah, thanks, mate! I made that sword myself, and now I'm gonna settle the score with that ugly bastard once and for all! Glad to find a companion like you though..." He put punched my arm gently and grinned sheepishly. "I may not be able to defeat him myself to be honest, as was the case last time."

"Great," I said,"Let's go then! I'm glad to have found you! But first, let's find a way outta this forest.."

"Oh yeah...true," Joshua said, chuckling.

 _A few days later..._

We finally got out of that forest after a few days and ended up on a hill, thanks to Joshua's knowledge of navigation, clearly better than mine. God, he must really know this place pretty well. Anyway, we talked a lot about the Enchiridion and how it was a mysterious book that really puzzled the mind on what it really contained...and not just the fact that it had immense power.

"So..Joshua, have you any clue so far from reading that Magic Encyclopedia of yours what the book we are trying to find truly is?"

"Um..." Joshua said, scratching his head as he pored over his book."Nope, no such luck. Apparently all I know is that the book is really old and created by magic...but otherwise I'm still in the dark. Strangely, this book doesn't really go into detail of the book and hey, doesn't even have one picture of it."

"Wait, you told me you saw the book before, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't really know how to describe to you how's it like...I really only can tell you this: it was not what I had expected something so powerful to look like.."

I was confused by his response and inquired further into what he meant. "The book was...pretty ordinary actually...but honestly, I have completely forgotten of how it looked like, so-" A shrill scream suddenly filled the air, and it sounded like a girl's voice.

"Help! Help! Get away from me!"

Joshua and I had the same stunned expressions on our faces, looking at each other. There was also a man's voice that sounded hoarse and pleading, saying, "Princess, don't worry, I'll make sure you will live together with me comfortably! Besides, once you live with me you'll find out it ain't that bad girl!"

Without a moment of hesitation, we rushed to where the scream came from, at the foot of the hill.

My adventure was just getting started.


End file.
